Special Offer
Clay Club for kids
(+1 more date)
Description
Children at play need a variety of tactile experiences to learn about the complexity and richness of information the world has to offer. In this ever more technologically focused world, it is easy for kids to miss out on these important experiences. Clay Club can help bring them back down to earth (great pun right?) by offering pottery lessons providing a messy, muddy alternative for kids to express themselves.
Open ended and exploratory in nature, Clay Club provides a place for kids to come and have fun making things with clay. From functional pottery using the potter's wheel to organic, sculptural, hand-built, all options are covered. All students will be offered the chance to work on a potterʼs wheel during the term. Kids can also choose between collaborative and individual experiences and all pieces will be fired at the end of the course to be collected a few weeks later.
Slow Clay Centre teachers are mindful that childrenʼs time is often filled with pressure at school. Clay Club, therefore is not about producing products to take home to parents – although they certainly will! Rather, the focus is on the experience of experimenting and playing with a plastic, responsive material that can be manipulated in many varying, exciting and often quite personal ways.
The fee is inclusive of materials and firing.
Age:
Kids: 8 - 12 years
Teens: 12 years +
All levels welcome.
Sessions Timing:
- Tuesday Clay Club Teens class 4:00 PM - 5:30 PM 12 years+
- Wednesday Clay Club Kids class 4:00 PM - 5:30 PM 8-12 years
Please note: children must be mature enough to listen to teacher's instructions and work independently when requested. If your child /children has/have special needs please consult with us by phone on 99437844 before enrolling them.
Please note dates/times and teachers will be listed on the website.
"Thank you for offering such a great program for children, my son has thoroughly enjoyed his experiences at Slow Clay Club for Kids. The environment is beautiful in every way. His teacher Louise really inspired his imagination by discussing his ideas in detail and showing him how to make them a reality, achieving a delicate balance between creativity and practical techniques. His creations have been way beyond my expectations and he is so proud of his work!"
Josephine Woodbury, 01/02/2015
What you will learn
- use a pottery wheel
- make things by hand and sculptural techniques
What you will get
- fun, fun, fun! Oh, and you get to keep all your pieces which will be fired and glazed to pick up later
What to bring
- a smock or wear old clothes
- drink bottle and a nut-free snack
What to wear
Clothes that you don't mind getting dirty.
Appropriate for
kids 8-16 yeaqrs who want to learn and have fun with clay!
Escape to Slow Clay Centre and learn the art, craft and design of expression in clay.
Slow Clay Centre is one of the most highly regarded specialist ceramics/pottery schools in Australia. We aim to give you THE BEST experience learning our ancient craft and our longevity stands for this with thousands of students who have learnt from us!
We welcome all levels from kids and beginners adults taster classes to advanced professional development and mentoring.
Our weekly students receive priority to re-enrol each term and take advantage of our generous loyalty program providing free studio access in between classes (conditions apply). In this way we can help you to develop your skills to a high level like no other school.
Our unique "Slow Clay" (TM) method for teaching the pottery wheel, established by Slow Clay Centre director and ceramic artist Jane Sawyer, has been taught for more than thirty years. Based on the Japanese techniques Jane studied training as a production thrower in Japan in combination with western techniques, the "Slow Clay" method offers a synthesis of East and West. It provides ergonomic best-practice and a solid foundation for personal expression and confidence with clay.
All our courses offer a foundation of skill-based learning within a rich framework of contemporary art and design enquiry so you can follow your interests. Our ultimate aim is to help you achieve whatever your personal goals are with clay!
Based in a beautiful inner-city studio in Collingwood, Melbourne, Australia, the Slow Clay team consists of leading professional ceramic artists and experienced teachers who offer high-level teaching in a broad variety of topics - see our web site for teacher profiles. Together with guest professional artists who host workshops and forums, we are a vibrant community and wish to share our passion for clay with everyone who is keen, no matter what level.
Cancellations & Refunds
If the organiser cancels the class:
You are entitled to a full refund.
If you can't attend the class:
You’re welcome to send someone in your place.
OR
- A transfer can be requested 14 days before the class starts. An admin fee of AU$25.00 applies.
No changes will be allowed after these times.
We recommend the refund upgrade option upon checkout in case you’re not able to attend the class. Learn more about refund upgrade option.
Terms & Conditions
Welcome to Slow Clay Centre!
We aim to give you the best experience learning ceramics! Each course may have slightly different terms but these are our generic ones: please read carefully:
General:
These apply to all Slow Clay Centre courses, workshops and events:
- Deposit or full payment (depending on the course/workshop/event) must be made at the time of booking
- Please choose carefully. Due to our limited class sizes once you've booked and paid either the deposit or the full fee we will only refund what you have paid if the class is cancelled by us. If you are unable to attend you may transfer your booking to a friend for no charge or, provided we can fill your place, we can sometimes transfer you to another class or hold your payment in credit for up to 24 months for a future course
- There is a $25 fee for transfer or credit note and you must pay any fee difference if the new course price is higher
- Please note: All students will receive a reminder between three weeks and/or one week (depending on the course) before the start date with a link to pay any remaining balance with your credit card. Students who paid the deposit online will have the balance automatically deducted. Others will need to click on the link provided or ring our office on 99437844.
- Due to our limited class sizes, if your balance is not received three weeks before the start date and you have not made arrangements with us, we reserve the right to find a replacement student and your deposit will be forfeited
Weekly classes: These additional conditions apply to all Slow Clay Centre weekly classes.
- Please note that making ceramics, particularly on the pottery wheel, can be a physically demanding activity. If you have any pre-existing illnesses and/or chronic injuries to your back, shoulders, hips, neck, wrists or elbows we strongly advise you to seek a medical opinion before enrolling as some activities might exacerbate past injuries and we take no responsibility if this occurs.
- We ask that you fully disclose any prior and/or ongoing illnesses or injuries that could affect you before you enrol AND inform your teacher in person during the first class.
- Your enrolment is conditional on your acceptance that Slow Clay Centre and/or the company's employees, whether casual, contract, or permanently employed, are indemnified against any exacerbation of any past or any new injuries that may arise as a result of your activites.
- All work made during classes is to be used for personal, non-commercial purposes. This is individually negotiable for advanced students or for studio exhibitions but we ask students to accept that the emphasis of our classes is strictly on education not studio production. If you sell your work made using our materials you must acknowledge Slow Clay Centre and also ensure you have your own product liability insurance
- Teaching fees are fully inclusive of materials but students will incur a single firing fee based on the current cost (advised in your class)
- Please note: we encourage judicious selection of your work to fire. Firing is always optional and all clay is recycled until the first firing. After that you must pay the firing fee for everything that gets fired. If it cracks, glaze drips, or you just don't like it, you are still required to pay the firing fee unless the fault is caused by us.
- Collection of fired pieces: Please understand that our storage capacity is extremely limited. Students will be notified via email when work is ready to be collected. Work will only be retained for two weeks following notification.
Regarding Kids Clay Club:
- It is your responsibility to clearly report in writing on the enrolment form, any illness, allergies or disability that may affect your child's involvement in the Clay Club activities.
- Please sign-in and sign-out your children
- Please respect our teachers and be prompt to arrive and to collect your children (within 5 minutes of class time)
- Children are expected to be mature enough to follow instructions, to work in a group together, to respect everyone's needs and differences and to be polite to everyone.
Thanks and we welcome your feedback but perhaps something got lost in the communication of our educational goals. We think it's an incredibly rich experience to discuss showing their work, spatial relationships, thoughts and inspirations. Our teachers do a lot of work with the children on this and discuss each and every child's work as they are setting up the exhibition. The actual party bit is only for the last 15 minutes before parents arrive and we allow you to stay a bit longer to enjoy the show with them.